the show must go on
by Marvelgeek42
Summary: ENDGAME SPOILERS! FRIDAY speaks again and she does the unthinkable. She gives her renewed hope. [Fix-It; Mid and Post Endgame. Different POVs]
1. don't stop me now (having a good time)

**Seriously, Endgame gave me emotions. I think it's the best ensemble movie and it was exactly what I wanted in a lot of ways, but I'm Not Okay™ with the end.**

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_**don't stop me now (i'm having such a good time)**_

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It's Rhodey who first discovers him. The soft but nevertheless painful "oh no" that escapes him is enough to alert Pepper that something is wrong. She locks his coordinates into the Rescue armor and rushes to his side.

And indeed, the sight she is greeted by is exactly what she had feared.

Rhodey is standing in front of a piece of debris, his facial plate removed, and tears flowing down his cheeks.

Pepper can understand why this out of all things is what he is doing now that they have won. In fact, she's doing the very same herself.

How could she not, when faced with Tony lying there, dying because of the fact he had used the Infinity Stones to save them all.

"Mr. Stark? No, Mr. Stark, please," the newly undusted Spiderman begs as he holds Tony — her husband, the father of her child — in his arms. "You can't die. Please, Mr. Stark?"

"FRIDAY?" She asks, because it's easier than thinking about the fact that she had encouraged him, that he probably wouldn't be here — that none of them would be here — were it not for the fact that she had told him to do this whole time travel thing after all.

(Does that make his death her fault?)

"Vital signs critical," FRIDAY responds and the grief is undeniable in her voice.

He's done the very thing that Pepper had always been afraid he would do, and she can't even be mad about it, she thinks as she moves forward to kneel in front of him.

Tony has given so many people their families back. Has reunited so many siblings, parents and children, aunts and uncles with their nieces and nephews, grandparents with their grandchildren, and every other combination possible billions, if not trillions of times over. Not to forget about families of choice.

How can she be mad about that? She knows that she certainly could not forgive someone else if Thanos had taken Morgan from her and anyone else had been in Tony's place, even if it had been Bruce who really returned the dusted if his wounds are any indication.

She had heard how Thanos had wanted to kill this entire planet and she's pretty sure that it had been way too close, close enough that it would have happened, had it not been for Tony.

He had dusted Thanos's forces, he had saved them all, and it's at the cost of not getting to see Morgan grow up.

Just as Pepper is about to convince Tony that he doesn't have to stay, that she and Morgan can handle it, that he doesn't have to endure the pain, that he can _finally_ rest for the first time in over a decade, something changes.

FRIDAY speaks again and she does the unthinkable.

She gives her renewed hope.

"Vital signs stabilizing," FRIDAY announces, her voice filled with the very same relief Pepper is feeling herself.

Pepper sees light returning to Tony's eyes, she sees the skin on his face begin to heal at an exponentially increasing speed.

"FRIDAY, what's happening?" Rhodey asks behind her.

"It seems that some of the nanobots have entered Boss's bloodstream and have decided that it is not his time to die."

"I'm not leaving you alone, Pep," Tony croaks. "I know you could have handled it, but you shouldn't have to."

Pepper smiles through her tears — tears that no longer originate in deep sorrow but from the sheer relief that is washing over her right now — and gives Tony a kiss.

They both know that Tony would have died right here and now to save everyone if it had been necessary, which makes it so much better that he is still alive.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter whispers from behind her. Pepper hadn't even noticed that he had moved from where he had been kneeling earlier.

"Hey Spiderling," Tony speaks, "When this is all over, you need to ask your aunt to come and visit me. I've got this daughter, Morgan, you see — she's amazing, but she's Pepper's child so that's a given. She's a huge fan of you, you'd make her entire month, isn't that right Pep?"

He grows stronger with every word and by the end, he outwardly looks to be completely fine. Pepper is pretty sure the last time she had been this happy had been right after Morgan had been born.

"It's true," Pepper confirms, "Tony hasn't managed to stop complimenting you for a single day since Morgan's birth. Or before that."

"I don't know what to say, Mr. Stark, I, I'm, I'd be honored."

Pepper understands completely why Tony likes the kid so much. He seems to genuinely excited and full of a desire to do his best, not unlike someone else she knows.

A brief exchanged glance with Rhodey confirms that she is not the only one to think so.

This brings Tony's attention towards Rhodey, too. "You're invited as well, as soon as you've returned from your mom's place."

Tony's face is still pale, but he looks better than he had five years ago when he had returned from Titan already, which can only be a good sign.

"If you think my mother won't be there to visit her grandchild the very second that she learns of Morgan's existence, you're wrong. Hell, I haven't spoiled my niece in way too long. I'll be picking Mom up and we'll be there asap." Rhodey's voice turns serious and vulnerable after these words. "Don't give me a fright like that ever again, you hear me?"

Pepper seconds that wholeheartedly, and so does FRIDAY.

"The only thing I want to do for the rest of my life is to watch Morgan grow and live her own. See what else Shuri and Harley come up with and how much better of a hero than me you'll be."

The last words are addressed at Peter.

"Mr. Stark, I don't think you take enough credit for what you've done," the kid responds.

"The kid's smart, listen to him," Rhodey comments because just like Pepper he is well aware that for all of Tony's bravado, he's still insecure at his core.

Pepper is absently aware of Harley — who had fought with them in the old Iron Patriot armor — landing behind her. Mostly because Tony's smile turns from Rhodey to somewhere to Pepper's left.

"Don't you dare die on me, Mechanic," he whispers.

"There's no need to worry," Tony responds, moving himself more upright, his face morphing into his signature smirk. "I wouldn't do that to you. I know that we're connected."

"Exactly," Harley responds and moves forward to hug both Pepper and Tony. This, in turn, inspires Rhodey and Peter to do the same.

And so they half sit and half stand there in the ruins of the Compound, crying tears that moved from grief to happiness in an instant.

Slowly, but surely more and more people wander towards them. Bruce, permanently big and green and apparently at peace with it, Nebula, her hand burnt to the bones and her sister by her side, Thor, who seems to have moved past his low and found a will to live again, Steve, flanked by both Sam and Bucky and finally having learned to trust Tony, Shuri, with a smile on her face and the promise of technological exchange on her lips, and so many more that Pepper soon stops recognizing them.

So many families have been reunited this day.

And Pepper's is one of them.


	2. this thing called love (i just can't)

**Honestly, Loki is not actually dead that would be the single most un-Loki thing possible.**

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**_this thing called love (i just can't handle it)_**

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The first thing Loki does after the battle is over and Thanos's forces are dusted is to try and find his brother amidst the chaos.

It has been too long since they had last seen each other — since Loki had had to watch him being tortured — but unfortunately, it had been necessary.

Loki had been busy getting as much as of the galaxy as possible to commit to joining this very attack at the right time.

It had not been his original plan, but when this Sorcerer Supreme — laughable name that was because _how many centuries of experience did Loki have on the human again?_ — when he had presented Loki with the Time Stone as evidence as to why this was the best course of action.

Or at least, the best they knew of. Yes, Strange had seen them fail fourteen million six hundred and four different times, but how could he have been sure that this was the only way?

Nevertheless, Loki is well aware of how much exactly a quasi-guaranteed success is worth — especially given these stakes.

Plus, it is not as if there had been a lack of people out for revenge. Far from it. More than once, he had only had to mention the fight was against Thanos — the being that had taken so many of their loved ones/coworkers/hive members/whatever-the-case-may-be from them — to get enthusiastic agreements to join their fight with the biggest force they could build over the next five years.

Apparently, it is vital that Loki does not inform Thor of his continued survival, so Loki doesn't contact him during this entire time.

It is fine. It's not like it is the first time. Surely Thor must be used to it at this point. Plus, Loki had already placed Thor over the rest of the universe when he handed over the Tesseract. He can't do it again, not after all that they had collectively lost.

And it has worked out in the end.

They had won and all they had lost had been returned to them.

Now that it is all over, Loki is wandering the debris, looking for Thor. It takes a while, but eventually, he finds him with a group of people standing in front of Stark and the people hugging the man — all of them are crying. Loki is fairly certain that the fact that his brother does not quite have the same look as the last time Loki had seen him does have something to do with the search taking a moment or five longer.

Thor's hair had grown to its former length again, although it is anything but taken care good care of. Yes, it could be worse, but Loki has seen Thor take pristine care of his hair while they were on hunting trips that lasted weeks or even months on occasion.

His beard is now long and looked as if the first attempts to tame it must have been fairly recently, given the braid is loose enough that Loki honestly is not completely sure if he imagines it.

Then, there the new… addition around his brother's middle. It is almost worrying, how much Thor has changed — how disappointed and disgusted the arrogant man he had been a mere decade would be at his looks.

In short, Thor looks almost as if he had decided at one point over the last years that Volstagg had embodied the ideal of beauty.

Before the man's unfortunate demise at Hela's hands, of course. Loki doubts a rotting corpse classifies as beautiful for anyone.

"I leave for a mere five years and this is what you do to yourself?"

It is far from the most tactful way this could have been phrased, Loki is well aware, but it is not like the two of them are known for the gentle handling and understanding of each other's traumas and emotions.

Thor turns around faster than Loki had honestly thought he could move given the shape he is in.

"Loki? Sister? Is that you?"

His voice is so full of pure unfiltered hope and raw emotion that Loki almost doesn't respond in a sassy manner.

Almost.

"No, it's Hela, get ready for round two. Of course, it's me, you fool."

Multiple emotions cross Thor's face — shock, grief, and anger among them — but the only one that stays is a delight.

"Loki, you're _alive_."

"Obviously."

Before Loki has the chance to do or say anything else, she finds herself engulfed in a tight hug.

"You're _alive_."

"So you've already said."

Loki will never admit it out loud, but this feels surprisingly nice. She can't let Thor learn of this, however, so she does her best to push him off her.

Surprisingly, he actually lets go of her.

That's new.

"What in Odin's name have you been doing these past years?"

"Right back to you, dearest brother," Loki replies, poking Thor's stomach.

"You did not think me dead," Thor states flatly and quietly.

"I was quite busy coordinating a great part of the forces that you saw earlier. Strange — you know, the man that made me fall through nothingness for thirty minutes — appeared through a portal of his and implored the importance of doing such."

Thor finds Loki's eyes. "And you couldn't have taken a moment — just _one_, in five years — to let me know of your survival? A message would have been enough," he sobs more than he speaks.

"It was the only way to ensure this outcome, according to Strange," Loki responds, her voice softer than intended — don't let that fool be contagious. "And considering that the human used the Time Stone to discover this before he contacted me, I was and still am inclined to believe him. And now I believe it's your turn."

Thor sighed. He was unusually hunched over and drawn into himself.

"I did not deal well with losing you for the third time, especially so close after losing the lands of Asgard because of Hela and the majority of our people between her and Thanos. I forgot all that I had learned about being a better king for my people and I did pretty much the exact opposite. I withdrew from the community after a month or so and began drinking more and more. They wanted to help me, but one of the effects of being King is that people generally listen when you tell them to stay away. I did things I now realize I should not have done and it probably would have been much worse if Valkyrie hadn't stepped up and taken charge. She really built a beautiful community in New Asgard, you should see it sometime."

"Will you be returning there?" Loki asks, raising her eyebrow.

A beat passes, then another one.

"No," Thor replies. "At least for a while, I don't think I will. They deserve someone better than the person I am right now."

"Then please tell me what reason would I have to go there. Come on, just one, I'm waiting."

Thor smiles and puts his hands back onto her shoulders. "I missed you, sister."

"I thought we had covered that part already." She does not remove her brother's hands from her body, though she isn't quite sure why. Is this this 'sentiment' thing people have told her about?

"It bears repeating."

And maybe it does.

And maybe Loki even responds to say the same is true in reverse.


End file.
